Ashes to Ashes
by Maya Beebop
Summary: Lira's left in her personal limbo and sets out with a vengeance: find her mother's killer. There's only one problem; the killer is dead! (The sequel to City of Apparitions)
1. Scotch and Death

I sat opposite Beetlejuice and Lydia, who were next to each other on a barely upholstered loveseat. Briana was positioned on the armrest, right next to BJ, while the others were congregated around.

"You said you'd tell us where you were, Beetlejuice!" the little girl demanded, pulling on his lapel.

"Alright, alright, keep your pants on," he returned, and all of a sudden, Briana's pants were yanked up her body, finishing around her nose. She quickly pulled the back to normal level and glared at him.

"I just went off to Juno's to get some transfer papers so I could stay here, at the Chateaux. And you know how long it takes in their offices! When I got out of there, the desk told me it had been three years since I walked in! Can you believe it?" He rubbed his head. Lydia went wide-eyed and made a disgusted noise.

"Don't they have _any_ decency? Jeez, all that for some transfer papers?" she commented. Chris looked to me and assured me that I heard right; it _had_ been three years!

"Time passes slowly over there. It kinda happens when you've got eternity," he explained

Beetlejuice went on. "So anyway, I get out of there and decide to pick up a drink at the bar in town. That's the living world one, back a couple miles from here. I end up sitting next to this poor guy who said he lost his dame and kid ten years ago. He said he caught up with them finally, but when he got to the house, they were gone. So I convince him to have a drink and a couple shots later, I leave.

"I'm heading here and suddenly I hear a crash below me. I look down, and some lady ended up getting rammed in her SUV by that guy I met at the bar. Next thing I know, I see her heading towards some bright light in the sky and he's in a body bag."

Here he grinned. "Nice to know that the Circle of Life is still affected by some scotch."

Some people groaned and Lydia smacked him playfully. "Beetlejuice!"

"What? It's not _my_ fault he was driving under the influence!"

"Beetlejuice!" she demanded.

"Listen, all I do is buy the guy a drink and you piss off!"

"Beetlej-…"

He smacked his hand over her mouth and shook his finger. "Say it one more time and I'm out of here. I just got back; you want me to leave again so soon?"

She shook her head and looked at him reproachfully. I was staring at the wall.

"Hello? Lira? You in there?" Chris asked, waving his hand in front of my face.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and gave him a smirk. "Yeah, I'm here. I was just thinking. It's kinda sad how he spent ten years looking for his family and then suddenly kills himself and some other wo-…oh my god!"

I stood up with a shocked expression.

"What?" Lydia inquired, worriedly.

"The only car crash around here was my _mom_! That guy crashed into my mom! And…he was drunk…because…of…"

I launched myself at Beetlejuice in a rage. Catching him by surprise, we fell to the ground and I fought to knock his lights out. He only took a moment to recollect his wits and suddenly I found myself levitated, hanging helplessly in midair. Punching and trying to grab him, I found myself only attacking thin air.

"Cool down, babes," he tried. "You can't blame me for that guy decided to drive afterwards."

"Watch me! You…you _killed_ my mom!" I yelled through fresh tears.

"No, some liquor and a bad choice killed your mother. And until you accept that, you can just _hang_ there for a while."

Suddenly, under my neck, I felt a hard tug. A rope had suddenly appeared around my throat and I felt myself yanked upward, literally swinging from a noose.

I gasped for air as Beetlejuice's face went pale and he rushed over to get me down. I sank back into my chair, rubbing the part of my neck that I was sure was going to develop a red mark.

"Sorry about that. You ok?" he asked, staying back a little just in case I decided to renew my onslaught.

"Yeah…" I gasped, trying to keep my breath. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Wouldn't be much of a loss, would it?" Briana piped in from the couch.

"I'll thank you to remember that I _enjoy_ having a pulse," I retorted, rubbing the wound absentmindedly.

She shrugged and floated over to perch in my head. I tried to look upward with a sneer, but she dug into my hair and grinned.

Shaking my head, I gave up and looked to Lydia.

"I want to see him."


	2. Live People Can't Visit the Neitherworld

Lydia's jaw dropped. So did Chris', as did several other people's. Beetlejuice, however, leaned against a wall and inspected a bug he caught climbing up the wall.

"You _what_?" she demanded.

"I want to go to the Neitherworld and see the guy."

"Lira, that's crazy. Living people can't go there!"

I made my hands into fists and kept going. "What about the door? In your old attic? The house is still there, right?"

"Honey, I don't know. I don't think so. It's been _so_ long…" she returned, rubbing her temples exasperatedly.

"Well let's stop being stupid and _go see_! I want to go to the Neitherworld!"

Lydia looked to Beetlejuice. "Beej…?"

"You didn't see this coming, Lyds? I figured she'd want to as soon as I'd mentioned it." He looked over, like he was amazed she hadn't discovered it sooner.

Lydia turned back to me and tried to change my mind. "Lira, even if the door _was_ still there, I doubt you could go through. From what Beetlejuice has told me over the years, security is really _tight_, and-…"

"So what? Where there's a will, there's a way!"

"Lira, _living people can't go to the Neitherworld_!"

"How do you know?"

She turned to Beetlejuice and gave a sound of disgust. "Beej, back me up here!"

He was rubbing his chin and thinking to himself. "Well, actually, there was _one_ case I know of. Kyle got in while he was alive."

"Who?" we both asked.

"Special case. Had to go through _lots_ of red tape. But they let him in because of some…heh…_gross_ intimidation on Endri's and my part. But we won't get into that." He grinned.

Lydia shrugged, and I took her example to not say anything more about it.

"Anyway, kid, if you wanna get in on short notice like you're giving _me…_there's only one way."

A silence settled over the room. People looked shiftily and uneasily at each other. I tried to catch someone's glance, but no one was making eye contact with me.

After some time, I lost patience. "Is _anyone_ going to tell me how?"

Chris wrung his palms as he tried to explain. "Well, Lira, you kind of gave us both barrels when someone here semi-suggested it before. We're not sure you're going to want to listen."

I shook my head. "What?"

"Remember when Lydia gave you that 'talk'? It was only a few hours ago."

I felt my eyes go wide. "Oh…yeah. Well. Are you saying that the only way to get in to just _see_ this guy is to…bite the big one?"

"As you so eloquently put it, yes. Although your recent escapades certainly won't be helping your inspiration much, I suppose _I_ could assist in your current situation."

The voice made me shudder. Turning, I laid eyes Andrew. With a sharp intake of breath, I noticed he was smirking slightly and his eyes were full of mischief.

"How could _you_ help, Andrew? Last time you tried to 'help' me, I was falling three hundred feet down into frigid water."

"Ah, my dear, but this is the point! If you want, I could make it as painless as possible. I _had_ tried last time. The water would have numbed you and you would have simply fallen asleep."

"Thanks but no thanks. I don't feel like leaving behind a blue-tinged, bloated corpse."

He shrugged and started to turn away. A thought hit me and I rushed to ask before he left.

"Why would you want to help, anyway?"

He turned back and shrugged again. "Why, simply because I am going myself in a short while."


	3. Bid For The Kill

We sat silent for a minute.

"You…you're _going_ there? You'd take me?" I asked to clarify.

"Not in your present state. They won't allow you in alive just to see some fellow who ran into your mother," he declared coldly.

I sighed and stood up. Going to lean against the wall, I faced a tough decision. On the one hand, I could see the man and talk to him, and possibly even see my mom! I could say goodbye again…but on the other hand, I wouldn't be able to come back since I'd already be dead and I wouldn't have to say goodbye at all.

They let me think for awhile before interrupting my thoughts. Finally, Chris put his hand on my shoulder. "Lira, you don't have to do it at all. It's not a done deal…you can stay here…"

I spun around and hit his hand away from me. "And do what? Rot away in this place, surrounded by death, with nothing but memories of a deceased mother and some anonymous guy who ran her over? I don't think so."

He jumped back, startled.

I yelled to the rest of the room. "It's a big joke, isn't it? My wanting to go to the Neitherworld. Tell you what, highest bidder gets to knock me off!"

Lydia, Chris and Briana couldn't tell if I was joking or not. Beetlejuice looked like he was considering making a bid, and Andrew was about to leap at the chance, his eyes twinkling and a fiendish smirk across his face.

Before Andrew could say a word, though, Beetlejuice spoke up. "Kid, from what I've heard, Andrew here wants the chance. How could he hate you so much in the few days you've known each other? What'd you do to him?"

"He doesn't hate me. He thinks if I kick the bucket, I'll be able to devote my time to writing instead of breathing."

"Oh. And does he want it particularly _painful_?"

"I don't know."

Andrew put his two cents in by claiming that the more pain there was, the less I was likely to regret being alive. This contradicted his earlier view on "falling asleep", and when I confronted him about it, he shrugged and claimed he had time to think about it and discover the truth.

I looked skeptically and hopefully at Beetlejuice and he sighed. "Are you sure about this?" he asked in a final-warning type of voice.

"Hell, I don't have much to lose, do I?" I claimed, looking at Briana who was grinning devilishly.

He looked like a flash of insight hit him and he grabbed my hand. "Come with me. I think I know how to get you back in your body if you get back from the afterlife, babes!"

Before I could stop him, he had back us both transparent and he flew us through the walls and outside, over hills and forests and into town, where we set down outside a dilapidated brick building.


	4. Morgue For Hire

Dizzy from the flight, I barely had a chance to read the sign above the door as he dragged me inside.

"A psychic? Beej, I don't know about this…what if they exorcise you?"

"She won't."

We went into a musty, incense-filled room wrapped in drapes and throw rugs and pillows. A sparkly-robed old woman sat behind a table and rested her hands on a crystal ball.

"Oh…are you back so soon? And you brought a girl with you? Honestly, I cannot act as a drop point for your escapades!" she reprimanded us. I realized she was blind, as her eyes were clouded and white. I also expected she was yelling at Beetlejuice, since I had never seen her before in my life.

I also wondered how she could see I was female, but then realized that if she could see Beetlejuice as well, she must have some sort of sixth sense.

__

Makes sense. She's a psychic, after all.

"Sorry Amelia. Can you keep this chick's body fresh for awhile after she kicks the bucket?" he asked, ever the frank one.

"What? Are you joking?"

"Nope. Kid wants to see the Neitherworld. I figure you've got experience keeping your own bag of bones alive while you're visiting; you can do the same for her."

"Keeping my simple, unhealthy body alive is one thing. Keeping a young, vibrant one is another thing entirely. What do you take me for? Some sort of morgue-for-hire?" she berated him.

"Amelia! C'mon, it's not like it'll cost you anything! You owe me."

She made a disgusted noise and told me to sit down. When I did, she took my hand in hers and traced it with her wizened fingers. I became relaxed and sleepy, unaware of anything around me.

I was aware of only three words before I fell asleep.

"Do it now."

My eyes fluttered open and I strained to rub the grogginess away and focus them. When I did, I almost fainted again.

My surroundings were twisted and dark are just plain creepy. I felt my right eye twitch for a moment before I began to scream.

My voice had just barely carried before I felt a hand clasp over my mouth. Beetlejuice appeared in my sight and I eyed him with wide optics.

"Shhh! Do you want us to get caught?! You're an unauthorized ghost! If they catch us, you might never get sent back! Not to mention never getting to move on, either! Completely setting aside why we're here in the first place!" he hissed, looking around warily.

I mumbled behind his hand and he sighed.

"I used one of the old bag's pillows to do the job. Least painful and doesn't leave any mark. Alright?"

I nodded and he took his hand away. "What about my body?" I asked quietly.

"She's keeping it on ice for you."

I decided not to go into it. He gave a last look at the ground and took my hand, pulling me into the air. I discovered I could hover in the air, even if I couldn't steer or fly!

"C'mon, I know a place we can go while we wait to see where your guy is."


	5. Go Straight To Saturn, Papa

He pulled me through the sky and I watched the surroundings go by before we floated down in front of a house on the outskirts of the city. Setting our feet on the steps, I only had time to admire the dark green front door before Beetlejuice shoved it open.

Pulling me inside, he slammed it behind us and I turned back and stepped forward…straight into the rather solid chest of a man.

Backing up, I looked up at the pale face of a ghost who didn't look a day older than twenty-five. He had the bearings of a self-confident, noble person who knew his friends and knew his enemies and wasn't afraid of the latter.

"Um…uh…sorry for…meeting…your chest?" I attempted.

He gave a short noise and looked back up at Beetlejuice.

"Papa? Why are you sneaking around the Neitherworld with a half-dead human?" he demanded of the striped-suited ghost.

I gave a start. _Papa_? Was this devilishly handsome ghost…Beetlejuice's…

"Well, it's a funny story, really…" BJ began chuckling nervously.

"And why is the entire NWPD out looking for an unauthorized ghost in the area? There have been sirens and announcements on TV about it."

"Honestly, kid, it's a _really_ funny story."

"I know you're not about to ask me and Kyle to harbor this fugitive. Unless it's _your_ fault she's here. Then I know you can just go to Saturn."

"_Please_, Endri? For me? C'mon, I've done plenty of stuff for you in the past. Just this _one favor_."

"Not for all the cockroaches in a diner's kitchen. Go bark up another tree."

"Endri" turned his back and retreated into the house. Another man appeared, this one a bit shorter and slightly more colored in the skin then Endri. He gave me the once-over and shrugged his shoulders. Calling back to Endri, he tried as well to get me to stay.

"Come on, Endri. Obviously the kid's got problems."

Endri reappeared and shook his head, crossing his arms. "The last thing we need is a tangle with the police, Kyle."

"But-…"

"No."

"Maybe-…"

"No."

"Only for-…"

"Goddammit, I said _no_! What, do you need me to spell it out? We are _not_ giving this kid a place to stay! She has no grasp on her situation, she can't control her powers, she probably can't even _fly_! Jesus, the kid could have a bad dream and blow the roof off! Like the cops wouldn't notice _that_!"

"Hey, the 'kid' has a name!" I interrupted.

The both turned to stare at me. "My _name_ is Lira. I'm not a _kid_, and I can hover. Not fly, but hover," I attempted.

Endri turned back to Kyle and gestured to me with his hand. "_Hover_. There you go. Can't _fly_, but she can _hover_. Give her a freaking medal and get her out of here."

Kyle got a hurt look in his eyes and Endri noticed it right away. Giving a huge sigh and not wanting to make a scene, he threw his arms in the air and stomped off. "Just make up a bed in the basement, for God's sake. The concrete will break the full blast of it when she has a nightmare."

(Endri and Kyle are copyright Spencers13 . Lacey, I love you and so do your boys for letting them be in my fic!)


	6. Basement Revels

"You can stay here. Um, the couch is second-hand, so if it smells funny, it wasn't us." Kyle had led me to the basement and shown me a rather ragtag "guest room", complete with the boiler, some old cardboard boxes, and a secondhand sofa.

I eyed the ratty pullout warily. _That _better_ not be a white stain on one of the cushions…_

But it was better than nothing. Kyle left me to get situated and I had finally pulled out the bed and put sheets on it when the hairs on the back of my neck prickled.

I spun around; too quickly in fact, because I lost my balance and fell back onto the springy bed. Not used to my immaterial form, I accidentally fell _through_ the pullout and landed on the hard concrete.

"Ow!" I cried, picking myself up and lying back on the bed. All that for nothing. No one was there after all.

I had just gotten to my feet when all of a sudden I saw someone standing on the other side of the room. Shocked, I lost my balance yet _again_ and fell back onto the mattress.

"Holy _hell_," I cursed, lucky to catch myself from falling to the floor again and just resting on the bed.

It was the first ghost. Endri? That jerk; he'd been the one who'd freaked me out. "You scared me half to-…"

Instantly, I caught myself in the laughable cliché. Chuckling to myself, I took in the sight of this rather dark spirit.

He was leaning against the brick wall, arms crossed and eyes staring. He was wearing a military-style white tank top and black-oriented camo pants. His softly tinted purple skin glowed in the dim light, and his light blonde hair hung past his shoulders, wild and untamed. A pair of sunglasses were pushed back over his brow.

"Um, hi…again," I began. "Thanks for letting us stay here. Me and Beetle-…"

He cut me off. "Yeah. You 'really appreciate it'. I'll tell you what, I don't. Hiding a Neitherworld's Most Wanted in my basement isn't the best career move for Kyle and me."

"Oh. By the way, how long have you been living together?" I asked, resting my head on the armrest.

He shrugged. "Few years. It's been a long haul. War stories I can't even remember."

"But you're proud."

"Oh yeah. It was kind of hard going; he's got commitment issues and I've got my own deal, but it's good. We get along just fine."

Lira sighed. "See? That's sweet. Thank God the afterlife doesn't have stupid rules banning free expression like homosexuality."

Endri did a double take. "_What_?"

"Well…um…"

"We're not _gay_," he laughed. "Just best friends."

I was thoroughly embarrassed. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry! I thought-…"

"Nah, no offense taken," he said; now much more relaxed. "People get the wrong idea when they see me around with a breather."

"Huh?"

"Didn't you notice? Kyle's still alive. Got a pulse and everything. He just looks dead 'cause he's spent so much time here."

I considered this. "I guess you're right. I didn't really take the time to notice. And Beetlejuice said there was a Kyle who got in here alive. I just didn't match it up."

"Well. Now you know."

"Yep."

An awkward silence reigned. I looked at the fabric on the couch, and he looked at the dusty floor.

"Well, thanks again," I said just to break the quiet. "I promise; if we get caught, I'll take all the blame. Say I forced you to let us stay here."

He threw his head back and laughed out loud. "You? A little graveling like you, force two fully-grown, long-dead guys like Kyle and me? Oh! That's great…" He stumbled upstairs, rather undignified, cackling with mirth.


End file.
